John Lamb submitted the following account to Montana 1st News. Lamb assisted these persecuted missionaries for nearly two years. These upright and blameless travelers were assaulted and wrongly charged for a crime they did not commit but rather were the victims of while passing through Madison County, Montana, on November 12, 2022.

! Case Dismissed on Montana Missionaries Wrongfully Charged !

This case was signed and approved for dismissal by Judge Luke Berger around four PM today (Monday).

Here is an account of the crime that took place against these innocent traveling missionaries.

“Almost two years ago, on November 12th, 2022, five individuals (missionaries) who were walking across the United States from North Carolina carrying a cross, a Christian flag, and an upside-down American flag (representing the country is upside down and in distress) found themselves walking just south of Ennis Montana, on highway 287 near the community of Cameron, when suddenly a local individual pulled up in his vehicle, exited his vehicle aggressively, yelling profanity and telling them that “their kind was not welcome in Montana,” and to “get their Jesus @$$#$ out of Montana.” He then attacked Jesse Boyd, bringing him to the ground, and then even attacked a second missionary, Eric Trent. In self-defense and the defense of themselves and the others, a gun was presented to end the aggressive attack. The five missionaries were able to get away from their attacker to a safe distance just down the road and called 911 for assistance.

The attacker yelled, “I know the sheriff…..”

The 911 call lasted about ten minutes. But instead of help coming, Madison County deputies came with guns drawn, without even finding out who was in the right or who was in the wrong. The attacker, from the very moment law enforcement arrived, was treated as a victim and never as the attacker.

Madison County Deputy Dan Wyatt and Deputy Alex Winn were recorded on body cam footage making fun of them for being Christians: “They’re some kind of evangelists or something.” And in reference to the youngest missionary and Jesse Boyd’s son, they jeered, “The kid must be home-schooled. He’s a little slow,” referring to twelve-year-old Josiah Boyd.

Dan Wyatt sneered degradingly: “The family that walks across America together can go to jail together”.

Jesse Boyd, His 18-year-old daughter Bethany Boyd, Eric trent, and Carter Phillips, were all charged with felony assault with a weapon.

12-year-old Josiah Boyd was placed in Deputy Sheriff Tim Jurgonski’s truck, taken back to the house of the attacker, and then later taken and placed in CPS custody. All of this was caught on police dash cam footage and body cam footage.

A local city police officer, John Moore, drove outside of the city of Ennis’ jurisdiction, and driven by excitement and adrenaline, he begged to transport his first felony arrest suspect. This again was caught on body cam footage.

Deputies were caught laughing about the situation and laughing about, “Who’s going to watch the county while we transport all these missionaries to jail and CPS….”.

A local game warden who was bored during hunting season also responded by backing up the road two miles at the attack site. Game Warden Robbie Pohle quickly sided with the attacker without doing any investigation. Using profane language caught on body cam footage, Pohle referred to the missionaries as “transients and homeless” whom, he claimed, he had seen for the last two weeks “walking the highway with the cross,” claiming somehow the missionaries thought of Montanan’s as a bunch of baby murderers. How did he get this information? We don’t know to this day. He has never once spoken to any of the missionaries.

Don’t believe me?-watch the video footage for yourself.

The missionaries’ vehicle was towed and impounded at their expense. Their cross was seized. Their flag, cellphone, guns and Jesse’s pants were kept by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and have yet to be returned.

Four days later (still sitting in jail), all four missionaries were arraigned separately by what seemed to be an incompetent Judge (Marc Glines) in the court out of Virginia City, Montana. I personally sat through this court hearing, and I’ve never seen such an incompetent judge. He relied primarily on the prosecutor to guide him through the procedures during each of the arraignments. One of the missionaries saw the judge swing his chair around and knock over the flag, breaking the eagle off the top of the pole and knocking the flag to the courtroom floor. The prosecutor got up and helped the judge stand the pole back up, which still remained broken.

As the judge and the prosecutor worked through each arraignment, I heard repeated over and over, four times, that “they were homeless transients,”… which was something the game warden had said days before on body cam footage to other people, setting the precedent that these people were dangerous and had no homes. Each was held in jail on a $50,000 bond, totaling $200,000. The judge told them if they could make a bond, they must wear ankle monitors and be placed on strict release conditions. This was nearly impossible: A whole family in jail, no friends, thousands of miles from home. This high bond could mean months or even years in jail awaiting a trial. Most defendants in this situation have no other choice but to take a plea deal.

After court I ended up going to Jefferson City Montana, where Eric Trent was being held. I requested a visit, and visited with a total stranger who I had never met previously, having only seen him in the courtroom hours before dressed in orange and with his hands and feet shackled. After visiting with Eric, and hearing the allegations against these four individuals, I knew right away that something was very wrong and that these four individuals were innocent of the charges against them.

Sometime around midnight, we had Eric bonded out, and I was taking him home with me. The next day, we worked hard and got the other three bailed out of the Gallatin County jail in Bozeman. Then, we worked on ankle monitors to comply with the release conditions. Twelve-year-old Josiah’s mother flew in from North Carolina and was also reunited with her son.

Jumping forward, the prosecution offered multiple plea deals. Trial dates were set, canceled, and reset. The prosecution was playing this evil game, dragging its case on and on.

One of the plea deals that was offered sticks in my mind. The Attorney General, Austin Knudsen’s office offered Jesse Boyd a plea deal. If Jesse would accept a disorderly conduct charge, prosecutors would dismiss the cases against the other three. Jesse refused, saying he could not lie. Finally, the prosecutors folded and dismissed the case against the other three anyway. Prosecutors offered another plea deal to Jesse; this time, the plea hinged on Judge Luke Berger’s ruling on one of the prosecution’s outstanding motions. The prosecution bargained that if Judge Berger ruled in the prosecution’s favor on this motion, then Jesse would accept a plea deal for disorderly conduct, and nothing would be on his record after six months; if Judge Berger ruled in the defense’s favor, then charges would be dropped against him. Jesse again refused, saying he could not violate his conscience and lie.

Finally, Judge Luke Berger issued his ruling on the outstanding motion. We had all been waiting for this motion for quite some time. The motion ruled in Jesse’s favor, following Montana’s law on self-defense. The prosecutors now had no case. Montana’s second amendment was challenged by the State, and the State seemed to have lost.

But, just two weeks away from the election, Attorney General Austin Knudsen (who is facing 41 charges himself over ethics violations) refused to dismiss the case. The Attorney General’s office made one last plea to Jesse Boyd, asking him to request an extension on the trial to “get us past the election,” and THEN they would dismiss the trial after the election. Jesse felt this was bribery, unethical, and a political move for the Attorney General. Jessie said, “No”. He would not ask for another extension on the trial. He’s waited two years for this court trial. “Either dismiss the case or take me to trial.”

Today, one week before the trial, several others and I showed up at Austin Knudsen’s office in Helena and set up a protest. Our plan was to stay there the rest of the week and then move to Virginia City for the trial.

Today (Monday, October 21) at three pm, Austin Knudsen’s office filed for a dismissal of the case in Virginia City, and Judge Luke Berger signed it within the hour, ending the two years of persecution following the hate crime that had been committed against these five North Carolina missionaries who were assaulted for the cross and arrested for being Christians.”

~John Lamb Last Free Man~

To view leaked body cam footage and follow the persecuted missionaries’ story from the beginning, CLICK HERE to read Montana 1st News’ articles and accounts of the events that took place over the past two years.